


Sirius' Crush (The One Where Lily Asks Out James)

by conquerthethorn



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M, Light Angst, M/M, Marauders, Marauders' Era, One-Sided Attraction, Unrequited Crush
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-09
Updated: 2017-04-09
Packaged: 2018-10-16 19:52:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 903
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10578345
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/conquerthethorn/pseuds/conquerthethorn
Summary: I have a lot of unresolved Marauder feelings that I try and resolve through writing. IT MOSTLY DOESN'T WORK OUT FOR ME.





	

**Author's Note:**

> I have a lot of unresolved Marauder feelings that I try and resolve through writing. IT MOSTLY DOESN'T WORK OUT FOR ME.

Sirius Black threw himself into the chair opposite hers in the common room, looking disgruntled or pained … it was difficult to tell … and dug his books out of his bag, throwing them down on the table. Lily was secretly pleased at the idea that perhaps N.E.W.T. level tests could, in fact, get to Sirius. It was usually incredibly annoying how easily he blew through most things; barely seeming to study.

She sniffed and turned back to the page of text she'd been reading, chewing absentmindedly on the end of her quill, as she tried to copy down notes for the correct way to make a Polyjuice Potion.

Much to her annoyance, however, Sirius wasn't even making a pretence of studying. Instead he was just leaning back in his chair, arms tucked behind his head, staring intensely at the ceiling.

Occasionally he would swing his legs so the chair tipped back. Anyone with lesser reflexes would probably end up flat on their back, and Lily briefly entertained the thought of making exactly that happen.

No, she admonished herself, she was far too sensible for that. Instead she looked up at Sirius and said before she could help herself, "Where's James?” It was strange after all to catch Sirius on his own.

Sirius tipped the chair forward and leaned on his left elbow, resting his chin in the palm of his hands as he surveyed her over the piles of books and parchment paper. "Quidditch practise," he replied succinctly, still staring at her.

Lily fidgeted slightly under his gaze, his grey eyes not wavering from her face. "Why aren't you also at Quidditch practise then?" she asked.

Sirius shrugged and returned to looking at the ceiling. Then, after two beats of heavy silence, "Evans, when are you going to ask James out?"

"I...what?" she stammered, caught off guard by the question. She quickly deflected from her embarrassment with a question of her own. "Why would I do that?"

Sirius looked down, smirked at her, and raised one delicately arched eyebrow. "You like him," he retorted. Lily resisted the urge to reach over the table and smack that smug expression right off his face.

"He's asked me out practically every week since 4th year!" she exclaimed instead. Though, now that she thought about it, not so much recently.

Sirius frowned. "That was before he actually cared about whether or not you'd say no!"

She scoffed at that. "That's rich, like James Potter would care about anything I say or do. Now if you don't mind," Lily said pointing at the scroll in front of her, "I'm trying to study."

She returned to her notes trying to tune out Sirius' presence and managed to copy down two paragraphs before Sirius spoke again.

"Lily," he said, catching her attention, because he never called her by her first name; none of the others in his little group, apart from Remus, did. "If you don't ask James out soon, I will."

Lily snorted and then faltered when Sirius' expression didn't shift an inch. In fact, he seemed to be sort of frozen in place like he couldn't quite believe what had just come out of his mouth.

"You cannot be serious?" Lily said, even as it dawned on her that perhaps almost unbelievably he actually was.

Sirius stood abruptly and made to leave as Lily panicked internally. She really felt like she should say something, that if he left without her saying something, she might regret it, but she was at a complete loss for words.

He grinned at her suddenly, an expression that turned his somewhat severe aristocratic features into something quite different. "Think about it, Evans, and be quick, because if I ask James out he might just not reject" … he pointed down to himself … "all of this."

That was how Lily Evans found herself asking out James Potter one evening over dinner; possessed by a courage she didn't know she had. How it actually went down was more her marching up to him and saying, "Hey, Potter," and then grabbing him by his robe and hopefully kissing him within an inch of his life. The rest of the conversation, if they even had one, was kind of a blur amongst the whoops and cheers from the Gryffindor table and some from the others. She caught Sirius' eye at one point, and he gave her a wry smile and a thumbs up.

Later, Lily managed to catch Sirius just as he slipped out of the Great Hall while James was lost in a crowd of congratulatory hugs and slaps on the back. " I guess I owe you a thanks," she said, shifting awkwardly from one foot to the other.

"Don't mention it,” Sirius said flatly. “Really, don't.”

"If..." she began, "but...I mean…." Taking a breath, she started again. "You care about him that much?"

"Of course I do," Sirius snapped back without a moment's hesitation. "Why wouldn't I want James to be happy?"

As Lily stared after Sirius as he disappeared up the grand stairway towards the Common Room, she had a thought that it took a particular type of person to put others’ happiness before their own, but another type entirely to consider their own happiness a non-issue.

She headed back into the Great Hall with the uncomfortable realization that she didn't have a clue what she was actually getting herself into.

**Author's Note:**

> Please comment this is the first thing I've ever posted and I need validation.


End file.
